Members | Support This Site | Logout

Home   Newsletter   Tutorials   Columns   Articles

Happy and Profitable Employees

---

In this Issue:

1. Forward
2. Relationships with the Returning Employee
3. How to Benefit From Successful Employees
4. Methods to Improve Employee Retention
5. Shameless Self Promotion
6. Get all your pressing strategic relationship questions answered for less than an hour of consulting

---

Forward

In this issue, you will learn how to handle returning employees, strategies for improving the ones you have, and methods to improve retention.

I hope you enjoyed the Labor Day special edition issue; I truly appreciated the mixed feedback on length. The length may not have been appropriate for an email newsletter; the 14-page issue was more representing something sent to Strategic Relations Journal subscribers.

I am interested in your opinion on delivery days. Do you prefer to receive this newsletter on the first/fifteenth or would you prefer first/second Tuesday of the month? You will receive a summary of the results in the next edition.

Sincerely,

Justin Hitt
Strategic Relations Consultant, Author & Speaker
https://iunctura.com/

Relationships with the Returning Employee

By Justin Hitt, Strategic Relations Consultant, https://iunctura.com/

Have you ever left something seeking greener pastures, only to have to return in a humbled state? Often employees leave a company with excitement and enthusiasm that harm their ability to return.

If you must change your working relationship, do so with tack and respect for all parties.

In David Koeppel�s New York Times article, Unexpected Joys of a Workplace Seen the Second Time Around demonstrates several aspects of relationships management:

• Focus on your contributions to your previous company and present your decision to leave as a logical career change (not an emotional jaunt.)
• Stay in touch with old managers and decision makers who you worked with at the previous company. Be of value to them.
• Demonstrate loyalty where due, make your move mutually beneficial or with the least negative impact on the prior employer.
• Do not share the negative aspects of working for your prior company with your new company.
• When returning to your prior employment, ask for those things that compelled you to leave in the first place.
• Upon your return, highlight your proven skills and track record, plus your familiarity with company culture.
• Acknowledge any shortcomings in your current position in a way that is constructive to improving them.
• Verbally frame the move as your decision, not because of someone else's actions (even if that is the case.)

From a management prospective, it is better for your unhappy employees to leave than to infect your more productive workers. Make it easy for people to leave your company, and if they are of value, make it easy for them to return.

However, do not fall into the trap of allowing people to bounce from company to company. Seek longevity in the business relationships by encouraging communications of company needs, and employee needs. Be supportive of sound career moves, but quickly weed out employees who use moves for only financial advance.

Questions to ask before returning:

• Why am I going back to my previous employer?
• Why did I leave in the first place? Is it still an issue?
• What have I gained from being away and how can I create new value?
• What governs my decision to return?

If you are returning just for the money, or because you need the money, there might be some resentment in the decision. You would be better off finding work somewhere else.

• Can I negotiation for those things I did not have before but want now?

Before you return, be sure to discuss those things you would like to have; including greater responsibility, changes in compensation, or adjustments in contribution.

• Who is still familiar with my contribution and me to the company?

Allow those people who you have been genuinely staying in touch with reintroduce you to the company. These individuals will open the door for your return, and can even help develop the opportunity to do so.

Questions to ask returning employees:

• What motivates your return and where do we fit in?
• How does this return fit into your long-term plan?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years, and how has that changed?
• What compelled you to leave and how can we improve on those points?
• Is there anything in particular that would make this stay more enjoyable?
• What contributions do you feel you are now better suited to provide?
• Is there anything you have learned that can be applied to improve what we do?

© 2003 Justin Hitt, All rights reserved.
/ employee-relations | newsletter /

Justin Hitt provides executives solutions to improve employee retention, reduce absenteeism, and increase overall productivity. Write for information about how you can get powerful strategies, employee-relations (at) iunctura.com

Methods to Improve Employee Retention

It costs as much as $14,715 dollars to acquire a single highly skilled employee. This includes selection and hiring, not to mention the time you put into an individual over their total stay. It is much more cost effective to keep good employees than it is to hire new ones.

To keep employees from jumping ship provide them daily performance targets instead of monthly, listen closely to their concerns always seeking a self-directed solution, and treat each employee like a close partner with full disclosure so they hear about problems from you first.

For more methods to improve employee retention visit https://iunctura.com/weblog/2003/09/15.html#a179

How to Benefit From Successful Employees

Executives would agree that the most productive employee is highly trained in their position and who completes their tasking in an effective manner. However, your middle managers might be inhibiting individual growth to protect their own egos. Stay alert to managers that fear their own position as employees run up the ranks.

This includes rewarding managers for successful hiring decisions, provide equal opportunities for management growth, and provide soft skills training to help managers surround themselves with strong teams.

For strategies to limit this potential roadblock visit https://iunctura.com/weblog/2003/09/16.html#a182

Shameless Self Promotion:

Get all your pressing strategic relationship questions answered for less than an hour of consulting

Receive answers that improve customer retention, reduce employee absenteeism, and increase your market share. See yourself solving these pressing challenges with a small investment of time and capital. All in a secure semi-anonymous environment that promotes peer feedback, expert advice, and an exclusive reference library.

Each question considered thoroughly and answered individually. You will get the personal attention you expect from a one-to-one consultation, without the significant investment of bringing a consultant on-site. This means you can get answers to pressing questions before they grow into major problems.

Discover how you can get answers to all your pressing questions, and be on your way to more profitable business relationships, visit http://ApplyingStrategicRelations.com/